It is a dog-eat-dog world in college athletics. The arms race specific to the college gridiron is on a level we’ve never seen before, and it’s only going to get worse.
Many times, the first impression a player has is when he walks into the football facilities, so athletic departments and boosters are dropping serious bank to make sure that first feeling is one recruits will not forget.
Buy Buckeyes TicketsAs a result, 247Sports has released its annual rankings of what they see as the best 25 facilities heading into the 2023 season. The rankings are determined by what 247Sports says are “industry standards, what players have told us, and several in-person visits to many of the sweetest digs.”
So, where does Ohio State rank? Not too shabby actually. The Buckeyes come in as the highest-rated Big Ten school (No. 7). In describing the facility, 247Sports had this to say about OSU.
The Woody Hayes Athletic Center, which houses the Buckeyes’ championship wall in the lobby, features state-of-the-art locker rooms and a strength training area. Its $7.8 million upgrade — the third extensive renovation since it opened in 1987 — was completed recently. There’s an improved 42,000-square-foot players lounge, a kitchen and nutrition area, a barber shop, a basketball court, a golf simulator, an arcade, a cryotherapy chamber, sleep pods and an illuminated waterfall in a locker room filled with lots of steel and lots of scarlet. Ohio State opened its renovated dining facility inside the WHAC in 2019, highlighted by pool tables, Pop-A-Shot basketball games and film rooms where position groups break down footage from games or practices. Last spring, recruits at the Army All-American Bowl voted Ohio State inside the top five nationally for facilities.
New digs at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center are 🔥 pic.twitter.com/18Scr2lLXf
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) April 19, 2019
Those ahead of Ohio State were
No. 6 LSU
No. 5 Georgia
No. 4 Clemson
No. 3 Alabama
No. 2 Texas A&M
No. 1 Oregon
Joining the Buckeyes from the Big Ten were Illinois at No. 22, Michigan at No. 16, Maryland at No. 15 and, somewhat surprisingly, Northwestern at No. 11. The Wildcats have really invested in their facilities with the opening of a 450,000-square foot football facility on the shores of Lake Michigan.
Surely this list will change year to year as collegiate football programs look to one-up each other on an annual basis. Feel free to see the complete list of 247Sports most lavish football facilities and what they had to say about each.
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